Court of Appeals Upholds Murder Conviction for Greenville Man

Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the murder conviction of Jimmy Earl Little. Little, 31, of Greenville, was convicted in Butler County Circuit Court in June 2018 for the murder of Martin Wilson.

Evidence at trial established the following facts regarding Little’s murder of Wilson on the afternoon of August 26, 2015. Wilson was visiting with a group of friends at a house on South Street in Greenville. Little, who was armed with a handgun, walked into the backyard and confronted Wilson about money that Little said he owed. Little shot Wilson in the head and fled the scene. Wilson, who sustained wounds to his brain and right eye, later died as a result of his injuries. Little was arrested and taken to the Greenville jail. While there, Little was involved in an altercation with law enforcement during which he told Officer Jamie Manning that “if I ever get on the street, I will shoot you in the face like I did ol’ boy.”

Butler County District Attorney Charlotte Tesmer prosecuted the case in circuit court. Little was sentenced, as a habitual offender, to life imprisonment for the murder conviction, which he appealed.

The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division represented the State during Little’s appeal, urging the Court of Criminal Appeals to reject Little’s arguments and to affirm the conviction. On January 4, that court affirmed Little’s conviction.

Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Tommy Leverette of the Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division for his successful work in the case.